Museum announces student writing competition

DAYTON — Teenagers will have a unique opportunity to earn scholarship funds while learning about military aviation history through the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s seventh annual Air Force Heritage and History Writing Competition.

The competition is open to public, private school or homeschooled students between the ages of 13-18, giving them a chance to showcase their writing talents while vying for scholarship funds. Entries must be submitted via U.S. mail or email by March 14, 2017. The competition will accept only the first 250 entrants. The requirements for this writing competition meet Common Core curriculum English Language Arts writing standards for grades 6-12.

The research questions for this year’s competition are as follows: In June 2016, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force opened its new fourth Building. This building includes the museum’s Presidential aircraft collection. Featured airplanes include: the Douglas VC-54C Sacred Cow, the Douglas VC-118 Independence, the Lockheed VC-121E Columbine and the Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000. On each of these aircraft very significant presidential, political and diplomatic events occurred. However, four major events standout in shaping U.S ad U.S. Air Force history.

In 1945, the Sacred Cow served to transport President Roosevelt to the Yalta Conference and was the aircraft on which President Truman signed the National Security Act in 1947 creating the U.S Air Force. One of the world’s most historic aircraft, SAM 26000 carried eight American presidents and played an important role in American presidential history. It is most noted as the aircraft on which President Johnson took the Oath of Office, following President Kennedy’s 1963 assassination in Dallas. It also transported President Nixon on his flight to the People’s Republic of China, as it reopened to the west in the 1970s.

Using one the examples of the various Presidential actions in the above paragraph, write about the history of that event, the background and explain how it reflected the role of president as it is outlined in Article II, Section II in the U.S Constitution.

A complete list of competition guidelines is available on the museum’s website at: https://nationalmuseum.usaf.afpims.mil/Portals/7/images/education/Writing contest rules and regs 2017 PA Final1.pdf?ver=2016-11-22-152006-470.

Scholarship award money is provided through the generosity of the Air Force Museum Foundation, Inc. A $1,500 scholarship will be awarded to the first place winner, $1,000 to the second place winner and $500 to the third place winner.

Local educators will determine the finalists, and those submissions will be sent on to national-level judges to decide on the three winners.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.